THOUSANDS of construction jobs in Edinburgh have been lost in the past year, building bosses claimed today.
And the dramatic contraction, leading to the loss of vital skills, could threaten major new projects, they said.
The Scottish Building Federation called on the Scottish Government to set up a new construction task force to ensure a future for Sco
tland's 220,000 remaining building workers.
Figures published by the federation suggest 20,000 jobs in the construction industry across Scotland will have disappeared by the end of the year.
And confidence among industry leaders has plummeted, with 83 per cent less optimistic about the prospects facing their business over the next year compared to the past 12 months.
The findings are contained in the quarterly Scottish Construction Monitor. There was no specific figure for job losses in Edinburgh, but the city's share of construction employment would put it in the thousands.
Scottish Building Federation chief executive Michael Levack, who is based in the Capital, said: "Today's results highlight the grave situation facing our industry. Real questions must be asked about Scotland's ability to build the inspirational projects of the future unless urgent steps are taken to keep skilled workers.
"In Edinburgh, projects like the trams and the city's housebuilding have sustained the industry in recent years, but new doubts over projects like the Waterfront and the next stage of the trams raise serious questions about where future work will come from."
The survey also found average levels of redundancies across companies of all sizes was eight per cent of the workforce.
Mr Levack said: "The nature of our industry makes it difficult to track job losses. However, these figures verify our estimate that 20,000 fewer people will be working in construction by the end of 2008 than at this time last year."
He said the construction industry received no specific grants or financial support from government and yet it continued to recruit more apprentices every year than any other industry.
"All we ask for is a steady pipeline of work that can maintain capacity in the industry until projects like those announced last week (the new Forth bridge and other major transport improvements] are ready to start in 2012.
"A new strategy is needed and that is why we are calling on John Swinney and the Scottish Government to form a Construction Task Force charged with keeping apprentices in the industry and working with public sector bodies to ensure a future for Scotland's 220,000 construction workers."
Several major building projects in the city have stalled as a result of the credit crunch. These include 150 new homes at the former Kinleith Mill site near Currie, with no activity on the site for months. A 100-home development by Cala at Leith's Albert Dock and a 73-home development at Granton Park Avenue have also been delayed.
And there were fears for the future of the Waterfront developments when Gregor Shore went into administration in October.
